Audiobooks: Audible Releases iPhone/Touch App, Android App Coming Soon; 85% of BBC Audiobooks Sold
Two audiobook notes today.
Even though you and your library might not use audiobook services from Audible (owned by Amazon.com), some of your users might. A note to let you know that in the past few days Audible has released an app for iPhone (free). An app for Android* is "coming soon" and a Blackberry app has been available for some time. All of the apps are free. Details and links here.
iPhone App Features Include:
+ Multitasking Support
+ Button Free Mode, Chapter Navigation, Annotated Bookmarks
+ Share What You're Listening To With Friends and on Social Nets
+ Earn Stats and Badges
+ Entire Audible Library Available for Wi-Fi Download (Titles Over 20K)
+ Sleep Timer
+ News and New Titles
+ iPhone FAQ
* According to the Globe and Mail, if your an Audible member you can access a beta version of Audible for Android.
BBC Worldwide has sold an 85% stake in BBC Audiobooks, which publishes titles including Richard Burton's Under Milk Wood, Winnie the Pooh and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in a deal understood to be worth at least 10 million pounds.
It is being acquired by AudioGo, a company set up by a former senior executive at Polygram, Michael Kuhn, and six partners. BBC Audiobooks, which publishes products on CD and downloadable digital formats, employs 140 staff, with the majority – 104 – in Bath and the rest in Rhode Island, New York.
[Clip]
The company will trade as AudioGo but continue to publish BBC-sourced content under the BBC Audiobooks brand. About 20% of audio content produced by BBC Audiobooks is from the corporation's content.
[Clip]
"The partners in AudioGo Ltd are committed to building on the past achievements of BBC Audiobooks as it enters the digital age," said Kuhn, chairman of AudioGo. "Opportunities are many and exciting and we will immediately get to it with Managing Director Mike Bowen and his team, and in partnership with BBC Worldwide, to create new offerings to our customers worldwide."
In 2006, BBC Worldwide sold 85% of BBC Books to Random House where it was merged into the Ebury Publishing division.
The FreePint Family is a family of resources to help information workers be more effective, raise the value of information in their organisations and contribute to success.
'FreePint... provides most of my professional development because it won't come through work and [other resources] just don't cut it.'
FUMSI Forum: Do you have a research question? Post it to the FUMSI Forum, where professionals share Q&A and useful tips on how to Find, Use, Manage and Share Information. It's free.
FreePint Shop:
VIP LiveWire:
